


Absolute Zero

by fuzzyizmit



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Intimidation, Non-Consensual Touching, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Slavery, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, chems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:40:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25024063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzzyizmit/pseuds/fuzzyizmit
Summary: Angela has made her way to Goodneighbor to find her fortune, but can she find it in time?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to try only having chapter numbers without titles... we'll see how much I like it.

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As Angela walked up to the metal door, its presence punctuated by a garish glowing neon arrow, her heart felt like it would blow out of her chest. _Goodneighbor_. She clutched her thick three ring binder before her, hoping it would give her the strength she needed. Angela hadn’t traveled here alone from Amherst, but she entered the town on her own.

The door was heavy. Angela struggled with it until a ghoul carrying a tommy gun and wearing a threadbare suit topped with a rust colored fedora helped her open it the rest of the way.

“Welcome to Goodneighbor.” He sounded tired.

Before he could walk away, she quickly thanked him. “Could you also tell me where I could find… the Mayor?”

“If ya wanna talk t’ the boss,” he pointed a scarred finger across the courtyard. “Check out the Old State House.”

She thanked him again, but he had already turned away. Taking a few steps closer, she took in the tall brick building. It was stately, definitely pre-war built, but well taken care of given it’s age. It reminded Angela of some of the ruins she played in as a child, looking for long forgotten books or scraps of pre-war gadgets. Glancing around the square, she saw a friendly ghoul manning a general store. She was more surprised to see an assaultron behind the counter of the other shop, one full of dangerous looking arms. It was early evening, but not many other people were on the street.

Standing in front of the State House, Angela took a moment to straighten her bangs, combing her fingers through her chin length blond hair. She wiped some hot sweat from her forehead. Her nerves were shot, but she had to go through with it. It was the only way.

Once inside she was directed to the second floor. She wasn’t sure what to expect. All Angela knew about the mayor of Goodneighbor was that he was a ghoul with a taste for chems. She wasn’t expecting a man clad in a long red coat playing chess with a rather serious looking woman.

“Looks like we have a new guest, Fahr! And this little lady has balls!” He picked a hat off the table as he rose and plunked it squarely over his deeply ridged scalp.

She found herself staring at the hole that had once been a nose as she spoke. “I…I didn’t mean to intrude, Mr. Mayor…” Angela had never been this close to a ghoul before, much less talked to one for so long. Sure, there had been a few ghoul traders around, but she was never directly involved in any commerce activity.

The Mayor drew closer to her, a cocky smirk on his face. “Oh, now don’t be shy, sister! We’re all friends here, right?” He motioned to a pair of sofas in the middle of the large room. Angela had always been on the shorter side, but the Mayor’s bombastic personality made him seem even taller than his average stature. Sitting down across from him did little to lessen it. Angela felt like she was shrinking under his gaze.

“Now, what can this old ghoul do for you today.”

Angela thought he sounded almost predatory. The glowering giant woman with a mohawk standing behind the couch wasn’t helping. She closed her eyes and pictured her family in her head. Releasing her breath, she began.

“Mr. Mayor… my name is Angela. I came east looking for someone who might be in need of my particular set of skills and I heard Goodneighbor would be a perfect fit.”

He cocked a smooth hairless eyebrow. “Oh, really? And what would those skills be?” the Mayor purred, leaned forward on his knees.

Angela opened her binder, leafing through the notebooks, papers and pamphlets stored within. “I am a trained scientist, specializing in pharmacological chemistry. I can synthesize chems of all sorts, medicinal, recreational, even chemical warfare. I’ve spent the past 10 years collecting every formula and recipe I could get my hands on.” The ghoul was leaning farther over, trying to glimpse at the treats she teased in her pages. This was going well. “Get me in a lab with the ingredients I need, and I’ll make you whatever you want.”

The Mayor leaned back in his seat again and glanced up at Fahr, another smile teasing the edges of his deformed lips. “That is quite the compelling sales pitch you have there, especially with the issues we’ve been having lately... but how do I know you can actually deliver? Not many actual scientists around these days… unless you’ve defected from the Institute.”

Angela had no idea what this ‘Institute’ was, but from the way he spoke, it wasn’t a popular around these parts. “I grew up in the ruins of an old university out in the Amherst wasteland. My mom was the town doctor, but I was more interested in books than bodies.”

The ghoul rubbed his chin, seemingly unimpressed.

“Put me to the test, then.” If what she had heard was true, this gamble was worth the risk. “Pick out anything, give me the means to make it, and see what you think.”

“You’re kidding, right?” The woman piped up. “You come in here, and then demand caps from us… just to waste on some flaky science experiment? Throw this pipsqueak out on her ass, boss. We’ve got better things to do.”

“I barely got here with the shirt on my back! Cut me some slack!”

“Now hold on a second,” The Mayor raised his hand. “I think we can work something out.” He spread his hand over Angela’s binder, turning it towards him as he spoke. “I’ll pick a treat from the cookie jar, here… and if _Squeaky_ here can deliver we can have some more negotiations. If not, then I get to keep the recipe.” He stared at her, freezing her to the spot. “Deal?”

She didn’t even hesitate. “ _Deal._ ”

Opening the binder to what appeared to be a random page, the Mayor read the title.

“Rocket? Never heard of it. Sounds fun!”

Twenty minutes later the pair led her to the dingy basement of the local hotel, a small crate clutched in her hand, the cola bottle clinking together between the box of Abraxo soap and Jet canisters.

“Hey, Fred,” called Mayor Hancock. “Mrs. Angela here is going to use your bench for a little while.”

A drowsy face popped out from a side room. “Yeah, well… you might want to check upstairs with that. Marowski might not like that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have a little chat with him right now.” He turned to Angela. “In the meantime, why don’t you get set up.”

The lab was set up in the middle of the large basement. She wished she had more light but began to unload and organize on the counter when Fred appeared next to her. She tried to ignore him.

“Sooo… whatcha cookin’?” His wide watery eyes tracing over the bottles and boxes. He reached out but Angela quickly slapped his hand away from the Nuka-Cola. “Jeeze, sorry man. You don’t have to be like that. I’m just curious.”

Angela placed her binder on the bench top, her hand firmly holding the cover down. She didn’t want anything of hers wandering away while she wasn’t looking.

“Oooh, what’s that?” Fred asked, peering around her with a little hungry smile.

“Mine.” She glared at him. She was already on edge with the pressure of synthesizing chems in an unfamiliar lab, but now she had to be on her guard against possible sabotage. _Great._

Just then, Hancock and Fahrenheit came down the stairs. “Okay, a few caps and that’s all squared away. You have an hour. Show us what ya got.”

“Hey, wait a minute there!” Fred stood up tall, puffing out his chest. “Are you guys looking to replace good ol’ Fred?” He shoulders hunched a little. “Say it ain’t so, Mayor?!”

The Mayor threw an arm around the greying chem dealer’s shoulder. “Nah, man. That’s not it at all. You know, with those raiders pouring out from Nuka-World it’s been hard getting a steady supply. Think of her as a possible assistant. This,” he spread his other hand out wide. “is her interview.”

Fred considered the news.

“Besides,” the ghoul continued. “You’ll get to try her goodies out… and it looks like she’s got a couple of aces up her sleeve.” He let Fred go and started towards the stairs.

“Oh, and Fred?” he looked back. “Leave her alone… she’s got work to do.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Angela pass her 'interview'?

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About forty five minutes later, Angela had three full canisters of Rocket ready to deliver to the Mayor. She was disappointed that she couldn’t manage four, but the Abraxo had been compromised at some point, leaving the box only three quarters full. With Fred in tow, she went up to the lobby to find the Mayor chatting away on a sofa with a few locals.

“Ah, and there she is! The woman of the hour!” He rose from the couch, quickly said his goodbyes, and motioned for Angela to join him as he walked to the door. “I’d like to take this party back to the State House, if you don’t mind. It’ll feel more _official_ that way.” She nodded in agreement, passing into the street as the Mayor held to door for two chemists.

During the short walk to the State House, Angela couldn’t help but notice a pair of drifters leaning against a metal shelter near the dead end of the street staring at her. The man stood out, a wide red stripe tattooed across his face, which seem to make his calculating smirk even more menacing. She did what she could to ignore them, returning her focus to task at hand.

Once inside, the Mayor led them past his burly bodyguard and upstairs to his office. Fred plunked himself down next to the ghoul, while Angela once again sat on the sofa opposite them. She pulled the three canisters out and placed them on the table confidently. She might not know this town, but she one thing she did know how to synthesize chems. There was no doubt in her mind this batch of Rocket was perfect.

“You really busted these out!” The Mayor turned an inhaler over in his scarred hand. “But let’s get to the good part.” He handed the chem to Fred while picking up another and offered it to her.

Angela closed her ice-blue eyes and shook her head. “No thanks.” The Mayor cocked his head at her. “I don’t partake. I never have _and_ I’ve never had any complaints about my products.”

“Seriously?” Fred piped up. He grinned widely. “You don’t know what you’re missing.” Without further prompting, he popped the inhaler in his mouth and took a long drag.

“Oh… that’s nice…” he pressed himself back into the cushions before turning to the ghoul next to him. “You have gotta get in on this, man!” Fred lifted his hands into the air and appeared to conduct his own silent orchestra. “Beautiful! Just beautiful!”

The Mayor curiously looked over his canister before shrugging, then taking a quick hit. Angela watched him as he appeared to savor the experience. When he finally looked back at her, she smiled.

“Satisfied?” she asked. He nodded. “What you are experiencing should last twice as long as a normal Jet hit, with the possibility some visual and possible audio hallucinations.” She glanced at Fred, who was reclining with his eyes closed, his foot tapping a steady beat.

The Mayor’s grinned widely. “I think I’m going to enjoy having you around. Welcome to the family, sister!” He threw his head back, angling it towards the door. “Hey, Fahr! Come here, would ya?”

Fahrenheit entered the room, as stern as always. “Boss?”

“Would you mind giving me a hand, here? We need to hammer out the specifics of Angela’s contract and I don’t think I’m quite in a state to take notes at the moment.” Fahr nodded before heading to the desk. She pulled out a handful of papers.

“Now,” The Mayor returned his attention to Angela. “As much as I would love to set you up here in the State House… we don’t really have the room, even in the basement.” He absently waved his hand, then stared at it for a moment. He continued to watch it as he spoke. “I’ll strike a deal with Marowski to fit you in over there. He’ll probably be happy to take a cut, but that won’t affect you any.”

Within a half an hour everything had been hammered out. Angela would give them a list of what quantities of reagents she needed for each chem, and the mayor’s coffers would front the money for them. She would be payed a stipend, with bonuses for completing orders before their delivery date. She also negotiated a mattress on the floor next to her lab bench, instead of more expensive room in the hotel that would cut into her profits.

“Anything else you need?” The Mayor asked.

“All I need are caps, Mr. Mayor.” Angela stated flatly.

The ghoul smiled. “It’s Hancock, sister… and I think we can manage that!”

Soon, she found herself with copy of the contract tucked in her folder. She had a lot of work to do if she was going to distill a ‘shopping list’ of sorts from all her assorted recipes. It would take time for Hancock to find and set up a complete chemistry bench. He estimated within a few days everything would be up and working, but Angela wasn’t as sure. Best to get ahead of the curve and be ready to hit the ground running.

With a laundry list of things to accomplish in the next few days collecting in her head, she nearly missed the curt whistle hurled her way. Looking up, she saw on the man with the red tattoo motioning for her to follow him into the dark alley across from something called “The Memory Den”. Angela pushed her repulsion for the man down and sprinted to meet him.

Angela grumbled. “What do you want, Chuck? I have a lot of work to do.”

Chuck shoved her shoulders painfully into the brick wall behind her, causing her to drop her folder, the papers fluttering across the pavement. “You better not forget who you are really working for, you little shit.”

The woman stepped closer, scooping up a few of the papers and examining them. “These papers better mean you got in.”

“Who would have thought… you raider types can read?” Even as the question left her mouth, Angela regretted it. The woman pushed Chuck aside, anger blooming on her face. Angela felt the tip of a knife tickle her ribs.

“You wanna say that again?” the woman sneered.

Angela huffed. “Yes, Chine, I’m now Goodneighbor’s newest chemist. Now, are you going to let me get to work or should I keep the Mayor waiting? You want your caps, right?” Chine’s knife didn’t move.

It was Chuck who finally broke the tension, giving Chine a little pull. “Come on,” he warned. “You know what the boss’s orders are.”

The woman backed off, slowly. “We’re gonna watch your every move. You aren’t free just ‘cause you don’t have a collar around your scrawny little neck. You try anything funny… you know the consequences.”

Angela nodded. Indeed, she did. Being this close gave her a moment to give them a good look over as she picked up her precious notes. The Red Line gang was normally easy to spot. All their members had a thick red tattoo somewhere highly visible. Chuck’s was virtually impossible to hide since it spread across his face and nose. Even in mundane settlers’ clothes and his mohawk pulled back into a ponytail, he still stuck out. Chine, on the other hand, easily hid hers beneath her muddy plaid blouse. She still wore her stripe, though more subtly, with a bright red bandana wrapped around her left bicep.

“Are you two going to let me get back to work? Or are you going to rough me up some more?”

Slowly, they backed up and nodded for her to go. Chuck let out a low laugh.

“Take all the time you need, sweetheart. We’ll be in touch.” He blew her a little kiss.

Angela felt sick to her stomach as she stepped back out onto the street.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While at work, Angela runs into a local celebrity who gives her a useful gift.

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Within a few days, Angela had a full chemistry bench set up and a mattress on the floor next to it. Fred moved into one of the unused closets off the main room, giving her a modicum of privacy; not that she needed it. All she needed was a place to sleep and a place to work, the rest was of no concern. The Mayor had tried to get her to start a tab at both the local bar and general store, but she declined. Scraps would suffice until her first payday, then she would live on whatever was cheapest. She would save every cap she could.

Immediately she got to work, cranking out the basics as fast as she could. One expense she knew she would need was a secure place to store her caps. By the end of the week, Angela picked out a heavy-duty toolbox. The best part about it was the fact that it had a working lock and it came with two keys, making it a perfect drop box.

Late one night, she went for a walk. Along the way, she stopped to check the laces on her shoe… auspiciously right next to where Chuck was taking a smoke break. With so few people on the street, she was pretty sure no one would notice the key wrapped in a piece of paper she left behind. She also hoped the instructions were clear… that the money had could only be picked up when no one was around to avoid any unwanted attention. She reminded the raiders that she was also keeping careful notes on everything to discourage skimming off the top… not that she expected them to care. There was only so much she could control; she didn’t have the time to worry about the rest. Sure enough, when she came back from dropping off a crate full of Med-X, her caps were gone but the box was still locked tight.

The next day, Angela was elbow deep in cooking up a large batch of Ultra Jet. A woman entered the basement while she was trying to seal a particularly tricky propellant canister.

“Heeeey friend! You’re back!” Fred got up from his seat. “How was HalluciGen? Find me something good?”

The woman dug a handful of strange canisters out of her pack. “I think I’ve found a drug that even you’d think twice about huffing,” she snarked. Money exchanged hands

Angela glanced over. The woman was tall with skin that almost glowed, but her defining characteristic was her near pristine vault suit under her cobbled together armor. Angela had never seen a vault dweller before, the was only one vault near her home and it had been destroyed long before she was born.

“That so? Far out. Can’t wait to start breaking this down in the lab. I got a ton of time on my hands with this new gal helping out. She’s a maniac when it comes to cooking all sorts of goodies!”

The vault dweller turned to Angela just as she felt the persnickety canister pop into place. She put the finished chem down as the woman held out her hand.

“Nice to meet you. The names Nora. I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“Angela,” The woman’s handshake was strong. “I’m pretty new here.” Angela turned back to her bench. “Sorry, but I have a lot of work to do. I hope you understand.”

“Yeah, I know how it is.”

Fred and Nora chatted for a few minutes before the woman turned to leave.

“Hey… Angela was it? You need to get yourself some decent PPE. Give me sec.” Nora immediately began poking around in her enormous backpack.

“What?” Angela was a bit flustered. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t really have any spare caps at the moment.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Nora pulled out a long white lab coat and a pair of safety goggles. “Here, try these. I’ve got tons. Hallucigen was lousy with ‘em.”

“No, thank you.” People just didn’t give away what they scavenged. There had to be a catch, and Angela didn’t need any more strings attached to her.

“What the heck am I going to do with a dozen pairs of goggles with matching lab coats? At the very least, take the goggles. Your eyes are pretty badly bloodshot already.”

Angela hesitated. Yeah, her eyes stung pretty badly from the fumes, but that’s just the way things were.

“It’s okay, pal. Nora here… she has a heart of gold. Haven’t you been listening to the radio or heard the talk around town? She’s an honest to god hero around these parts!” Fred put a friend arm around the vault dweller’s shoulders as she turned a little red from all the praise.

“Don’t go blowing things out of proportion, Fred. I’m just helping out where I can.”

Angela studied the pair. Fred had been fair with her, sincerely trying to be nice to her when he was around. He didn’t seem like the kind of person who would lie about this kind of thing.

“I suppose, if you are just giving them away.” As Angela tried on the goggles, Nora left the lab coat on the bench. Before she could react, Nora waved a quick goodbye and was gone. Angela looked at the coat and blinked.

“It’s bad mojo to refuse a gift, ya know.” Fred nudged her gently with his elbow.

Angela mused. “I suppose you’re right.” She’d only ever had one ratty lab coat she had scavenged years ago. It had only lasted her a year or so before it deteriorated so badly it offered next to no protection from spills. This coat was nearly spotless, save for a few spots on a cuff, and it was made from a thick canvas-like material that would last a decade or more, even with heavy use. And this random woman had simply given it away… to be nice to a stranger?

 _What a nice change of pace_ , thought Angela. _Maybe my luck is starting to change?_

Putting on the coat, she got back to work. Those caps weren’t going to earn themselves.

After a long day, Angela hung up her lab coat and sat on the mattress. She stared at it for a moment before grabbing her binder. She could feel the lump in her throat grow as she turned the dogeared pages. She stopped occasionally at little stick figure drawings or groups of roughly sketched flowers, her fingers lingering over the childish scribbles in the margins. Finally, she came to the back cover. Stuffed into the pocket she carefully removed a square black and white photograph stashed inside.

Angela turned away from the room, unable to stop the silent tears streaming down her face. The picture held three smiling faces. One belonged to a burly man in his prime, his skin darker from a full season working in the fields. The other faces that beamed back from the thick card stock was that of two jovial children. The trio stood in front of a pile of bloody molerats, the spoils of the girls first hunting trip. It was an old photo, one of a handful Angela ever got the chance to take before the ancient camera gave up the ghost.

“Keep them safe, Ben. I’m working as fast as I can.” She whispered to the picture. She knew they couldn’t hear her, but wished by some twist of fate they could.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela's situation goes from bad to worse and the price keeps going up.

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A couple of hectic weeks later, Angela found herself with a rare quiet moment on her mattress after a long marathon of cooking up a large batch of chems. Looking through her notes, she recalculated her figures for the third time. She was well on her way to fulfilling her debt, maybe even with a few days to spare. For the first time in a long time, Angela could feel some of the tension release from her shoulders. She could see a light at the end of the constant stress of days upon days of work.

Satisfied with her numbers, she decided to check the lock box to see if her latest payment had been collected. Peering into the toolbox, the caps were gone but, in their place, she saw a crudely folded scrap of paper. Angela didn’t know why, but the back of her neck prickled when she picked it up.

Opening it, the words were clumsily scrawled in pencil:

_THE PRICE HAS GONE UP_

_5000 caps_

It was like her legs were kicked out from under her. Her brain struggled to comprehend this new information. She was so close to getting her family back, and now they changed the deal? Numbers flashed across her mind as she rubbed her temples. Desperate, she pulled out paper and started to scratch down figures chaotically. She looked back and forth from the note to her totals, sweat beading on her forehead.

Suddenly, the basement felt like prison bars closing in on her. Angela scrambled up the stairs and out of the lobby, making her way outside into the cool air. She took a few deep breaths, trying to soothe her nerves. Any calm was shattered when she heard a familiar laughter coming from the corner of the building, pointedly cruel.

Forgetting where she was, Angela stomped up to Chine.

“Just what the fuck is the meaning of _this_?” She threw the now crumpled note in the gutter. “You can’t just…” Angela suddenly realized how loud her voice had become. She was starting to get pointed glances from the passersby. She took another breath, forcing her shoulders and her voice down.

“ _You can’t just change our deal like that!_ ” she hoarsely whispered, her face barely holding back the anger boiling behind it.

Chuck wickedly smiled. “Why don’t you step into our office, if you want to file a complaint.” Angela thought nothing of the phony bow leading to the less populated side of the building. She realized her mistake when Chine painfully slammed her into the brick wall, pinning her with a steely forearm.

“If you don’t agree with T-Bone’s changes… we can always tell him the deal is off.”

Angela forced away the stars invading the edges of her vision. “That’s…” She had made a serious miscalculation; she shouldn’t have come here angry. There was no winning this way. Her shoulders slumped in surrender. “That’s not what I meant. We agreed on 3000 caps… that I could do… but 5000? I’ll get T-Bone the caps he wants, but you have to have him extend the deadline! There’s no way!”

Chuck was unmoved. “The boss sets the rules. You just have to follow them.”

“But I can’t… I hardly sleep as it is! Chems take time to cook!”

Chine leaned hard on Angela, the rough bricks gouging into her shoulders. “Not _our_ problem, egghead. Pay up or that precious little family of yours faces the consequences.” The raider gave her one final rough shove before backing off.

Angela sheepishly stayed silent as she stepped away from the wall. She ignored the warm feeling of blood on the fabric of her shirt on her back. At least she had a coat that could cover the stains up and keep Fred from asking uncomfortable questions.

“Can we help you with anything else?” Chuck mocked. “No? Well, then be a good little bitch and get back in the kitchen.”

Angela stepped back into the street. She felt numb, defeated. She barely even registered Fred’s wave in the Rexford’s lobby as she drifted past him on her way back down into the basement. Walking down those steps, she felt as if she was walking away from the light, she had so feverishly worked so hard to find… back down into the depths of a dungeon she was quickly finding she could not escape from.

Standing in front of her bench, Angela just stared down at it. She felt exhausted and defeated. There was nothing she could change. Resigned to her fate, she found the small tin of left over random chems she kept stashed in case she came up short in an order. Fishing around, she pulled out a stick of Afterburner gum and a Mentat. Hating herself, she shoved them both in her mouth as she started the next requested batch, the chems fueled her system for the next few hours. Eventually, even the chems could not keep her eyes open forever. She eventually staggered back to her bed and collapsed into unconsciousness as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Angela woke with a start, her eyes snapping open, confused by the sudden pressure cross her torso and mouth. A shocked scream stalled in her throat.

“Not a sound.” Chuck hissed into her ear as he straddled her. His rough fingernails dug into skin of her face as he pressed his hand over her mouth. His bloodshot eyes bled into the crimson stripe across his face. She could smell alcohol on his breath. That, combined with his dilated pupils and bulging veins, betrayed a night of heavy partying.

“Ya know,” he slurred, “I was thinking about buying one of your little brats after this little sham job was over… but since I’ve been stuck here…” He ran his free hand down the side of her face and neck.

Angela’s stomach lurched but she didn’t dare move a muscle. She could feel Chuck shift his weight, working his body down hers, pressing her hips painfully into the flimsy mattress. Even if she did try and struggle, he outweighed her by at least 100 pounds. She was effectively pinned to the concrete floor.

“But I’ve been watching you for so long…” His lips grazed her ear. “I think I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to see exactly how tight that little pussy of your is.”

Chuck slid the hand that covered her face down to Angela’s neck and started to press. At the same time, she heard the distinctive sound of a zipper unzipping. She began to squirm under his grip.

Instantly, Chuck’s hand squeezed harder, forcing her chin up.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I know better than to break the merchandise before I buy it… won’t stop me from having some fun.” Angela could feel the knuckles of his clenched fist moving up and down on her belly. The other hand, clasped around her neck, slowly began to tighten with each stroke. Her airway constricted; she began to gasp for air. Grabbing Chuck’s hand only made him squeeze more. Sparks of light blasted across her vision as the edges turned fell away. Every second dragged on for what felt like hours.

With a final grunt, Chuck released her neck. Angela greedily gulped in air, blood and oxygen rushing back to her brain. Unfortunately, that also lead to her senses filling up with the sickening smell of Chuck’s sticky load. It took all her nerve to keep from vomiting in revulsion.

“You enjoyed my little preview, babe?” He wiped his stinking hand, slick with cum, over Angela’s face. “I can’t wait to give you the full show.” Snickering, he slowly got up, glaring down at her frozen beneath him.

Angela stayed stone still until she heard the creak of the stairs, then she bolted for the small sink at her station. She couldn’t even get the water flowing before she heaved up what ever was left in her stomach. Frantically, she scrubbed her face, soap suds stinging her eyes. Tearing her shirt off, she plunged it into the water, trying to erase every trace of the raider had left on her.

With the rushing water and desperate cleaning, Angela did not notice Fred had entered the room until he spoke up.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Only then did Angela remember that she was standing, wide-eyed and half naked, dripping wet in the middle of her station. She froze. After a moment, all she could manage was a shrug.

“Got something nasty on your shirt? Did you forget to wear your lab coat?”

Angela forced her breathing to slow down enough to eke out a few words. “Yeah, forgot my coat.” Against all logic, she caught a whiff of Chuck’s stink. She fought back a wave of nausea.

“Been there, friend.” Fred walked past her and into one of the side room. Angela gave out a little sigh of relief, grateful for the privacy.

A moment later, he returned. Angela’s nerves instinctively bristled at his presence.

“I hope you don’t take any offense, but I figured you don’t have much in the way of spare clothing. I got this here old t-shirt I don’t wear much anymore… you want it?” He held out a crumpled maroon t-shirt.

With a pang of guilt, she sheepishly thanked Fred. After leaving the shirt on her bench, he made a quick exit, mumbling some excuse about Rufus needing some help upstairs.

Picking up the shirt, Angela fell to the ground. Chuck was right… there was no way she was ever going to escape this, no way to save her family. Her house of cards was falling down around her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.


End file.
